Are 1852's good for a medium environment?

[wrainwater]

We currently house around 200 AP's. 30 of them are 1852 AP's. I was reading more into them and realize they dont support clean air or client link. Most users who had them had small scale environments and used the mobility express feature (to my knowledge only allows 25 AP's at a time). With a college sized environment that im operating out of, Im making a decision on whether to continue down the 1800 series path  (capwap and a WLC). Do these AP's work well in my type of environment? or should I stop buying them while im ahead and use a different model? I was under the impression the 1852i AP's would allow more users to connect through AP's with the MU-MiMo feature. 

[Leo Laohoo · Accepted solution]

When it comes to Cisco wireless it is always you-get-what-you-paid-for.  

My recommendation is to invest in 2800 or 3800.

[wrainwater]

I will definitely take your advice. So are you agreeing the 1800 series AP's arent good for a collegiate environment? and what's different about them and the ones you recommended?

[Leo Laohoo]

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@wrainwater wrote:

So are you agreeing the 1800 series AP's arent good for a collegiate environment? and what's different about them and the ones you recommended?

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Personally, I don't think the 1800 are suitable for large client population.  Think of the 1800 for home/SOHO use.  Any kind of deployment with this kind of movement and I'd go for the 2800/3800.  

Maybe, the 1800 could be suitable to some people but I wouldn't touch them.  

Also consider investing in a WLC (and don't depend entirely on the Mobility Express).  For small deployment, the WLC 3504 is ideal.

[wrainwater]

thats pretty much what i figured. sucks I already bought 30 of them. But I will get the 2800s from this point on. 

[Leo Laohoo · Accepted solution]

Talk to your local Cisco SE/AM.  Sometimes there are special offers or bundles that will make the investment cheaper.